With single-family zoning about to be a thing of the past, the province is planning to create a series of standardized designs for new three- four- and six-plex housing units.
B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced another part of the plan for what it calls small-scale multi unit housing (SSMUs) the province will draft up to 10 standardized designs for the new type of homes.
鈥淗aving standardized building designs available can help streamline the permitting process,鈥� Kahlon said in Thursday鈥檚 announcement. 鈥漌e will work to add additional designs in the coming years to ensure our communities remain vibrant and have a variety of housing options.鈥�
A consultant group will work with builders, and the designs are set to be completed and released around the summer of 2024, the same time the new zoning rules are expected to take full effect.
The designs will comply with the BC Building Code, and be as close as possible to 鈥渂uilding permit ready,鈥� which is aimed at simplifying the process for both builders and local municipalities.
READ MORE: Fast bus lines announced in Surrey, 91原创, Maple Ridge, White Rock, Burnaby
Some communities have already created standardized designs, but the provincial project will allow for the creation of designs that can be broadly used, even in communities that don鈥檛 have the resources to create their own sets of plans.
That will benefit 91原创 City, said Mayor Nathan Pachal.
鈥淲e were already looking at fourplex designs,鈥� Pachal said.
Before the provincial announcement earlier this month that they were essentially eliminating single-family zoning, the City had been going through a process to expand areas zoned for duplexes, townhouses, and other SSMU-like projects along 200th and 208th Streets.
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly the next logical step,鈥� said Pachal.
Standardized designs will make things simpler for builders who are working without architects, Pachal noted.
It may also help with the shortage of building inspectors that is challenging B.C. municipalities. It鈥檚 less involved to inspect a building based on a standardized design.
91原创 Township Mayor Eric Woodward was less complimentary, saying he had 鈥渟ignificant concerns鈥� with the designs.
Although the designs aren鈥檛 done, graphics with the announcement showed a number of possible lot layouts for the SSMUs.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see a contemplated design with a cul-de-sac,鈥� said Woodward. Houses on cul-de-sacs, like many in Walnut Grove and other 1980s and 1990s-developed areas of the Township, have a narrow frontage, and the lots are fan-shaped, wider at the back.
Woodward has expressed opposition to the end of single-family zoning. He said that it throws into disarray years of planning work fort the Brookswood-Fernridge area and parts of Willoughby. Areas that were planned for single-family, including their level of parks, playgrounds, schools, and sewage and water systems, may now have significantly higher density.
Woodward said the Township should be exempt from the new regulations, as it鈥檚 already building large amounts of housing, notably in Willoughby, with more planned for South Brookswood under just-completed neighbourhood plans.
